JPMorgan Chase is looking to buy a stake in fintech start-up Yapily, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

The negotiations of making an investment in UK-based Yapily are at an early stage, the sources said.

Yapily, which is looking to raise fresh funds, is an open banking infrastructure developer enabling clients to access financial data and initiate payments.

According to one source, the fintech is looking to raise capital as it gets close to wrapping up its acquisition of open banking firm finAPI.

Through the acquisition, Yapily hopes to increase its customer base and strengthen its presence in the UK and German markets.

The deal, which was signed in May this year, will see Yapily buy finAPI from German credit bureau SCHUFA for an undisclosed sum.

In July 2021, Yapily completed the first close of its $51m Series B funding round, which was led by Sapphire Ventures and joined by existing investors Lakestar, HV Capital and Latitude.

Talks with the US banking giant are still ongoing and there is no guarantee that a deal will materialise, the source said.

For JP Morgan Chase, the deal would add to the series of fintech partnerships as it pushes to fend off rivals in this space.

To this end, the bank has acquired a stake in Greek digital banking and payments provider Viva Wallet and bought Nutmeg Saving & Investment, a UK-based digital wealth manager.